Method for processing a purchase transaction using a plurality of transaction systems

ABSTRACT

A method of processing a purchase transaction includes generating a transaction file containing a product code, which is transmitted from a user computing device when an image of a product code identifier is captured by the user computing device, a first user ID of the customer, and an indicator of whether or not the customer has opted in to receive electronic receipts. The method further includes generating an electronic receipt based on the transaction file, storing a conversion table containing the first and second user IDs of the customer, converting the first user ID contained in the transaction file to the second user ID based on the conversion table, when the indicator indicates that the customer has opted in, and storing the electronic receipt in association with the second user ID. The electronic receipt is transmitted in response to a request for electronic receipts associated with the second user ID.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/220,363, filed on Apr. 1, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/687,081, filed on Nov. 18, 2019, nowabandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/042,315, filed on Jul. 23, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,482,448, issuedon Nov. 19, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/477,323, filed on Apr. 3, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.10,032,154, issued on Jul. 24, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/988,406, filed on Jan. 5, 2016, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,619,976, issued on Apr. 11, 2017, which is based upon andclaims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2015-002392, filed Jan. 8, 2015, Japanese Patent Application No.2015-003431, filed Jan. 9, 2015, Japanese Patent Application No.2015-105761, filed May 25, 2015, and Japanese Patent Application No.2015-239946, filed Dec. 9, 2015; the entire contents of all of theseapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein generally relate to a method for processinga purchase transaction using a plurality of transaction systems.

BACKGROUND

In the related art, a self-registration system is known as a system thatcan simplify a purchase transaction. In the self-registration system, acustomer launches a self-registration program on a hand-held computingdevice and registers data of commodities to be purchased through thecomputing device. As the data registered are transmitted to apoint-of-sale (POS) terminal, a process required to complete thetransaction at the POS terminal can be simplified.

In the related art, an electronic receipt system is also known as asystem that can digitalize contents of a purchase transaction. In theelectronic receipt system, a customer launches an electronic receiptprogram on a computing device and sends a request for electronicreceipts related to purchase transactions made by the customer.

Usually, for each of the above computer-based commerce systems, acustomer needs a customer (user) ID to log into the system and anauthentication process of the system is separately established. It wouldbe desirable if a plurality of computer-based commerce systems can beused in a single purchase transaction in a more convenient manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a retail store having a commodity salesprocessing system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the commodity sales processing system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a POS apparatus in the commodity salesprocessing system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a portable information terminal in thecommodity sales processing system.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a support server in the commodity salesprocessing system.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a data structure of a commoditytransaction file.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an electronic receipt server in thecommodity sales processing system.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a data structure of an electronicreceipt file.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a data structure of a linkage table.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a main procedure of a processingcarried out by a processor of the portable information terminalaccording to a self-registration terminal program.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a main procedure of a processcarried out by a processor of the support server according to aself-registration terminal program.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a main procedure of a processcarried out by a processor of the POS apparatus according to a controlprogram when the POS apparatus receives a settlement request.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a main procedure of a processcarried out by a processor of the electronic receipt server according toan electronic receipt server program.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a portable information terminal accordingto a second embodiment.

FIG. 15 schematically illustrates a data structure of a commoditytransaction file according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a part of a process carried out by aprocessor of the portable information terminal according to aself-registration terminal program in the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a POS apparatus according to a thirdembodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a main procedure of a processcarried out by a processor of the POS apparatus according to a controlprogram in the third embodiment when the POS apparatus receives asettlement request.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process carried outby a processor of the portable information terminal according to afourth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process carried outby a processor of the support server according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process carried outby a processor of the POS apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process carried outby a processor of an electronic receipt server according to the fourthembodiment.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process carried outby a processor of a portable information terminal according to thefourth embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process carried outby a processor of a portable information terminal according to thefourth embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a process carried outby a processor of an electronic receipt server according to the fourthembodiment.

FIGS. 26-28 each schematically illustrate a screen displayed on a touchpanel of the portable information terminal according to the fourthembodiment.

FIG. 29 schematically illustrates a data structure of a commoditytransaction file according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating a part of a process carried out by aprocessor of the portable information terminal according to the fifthembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to an embodiment, a method for processing a purchasetransaction of a customer at a store using a plurality of transactionsystems connected over a network, the transaction systems including astore server, a user computing device in which the customer hasinstalled a self-registration program, and an electronic receipt server,includes the steps of: launching the self-registration program in theuser computing device; capturing with the user computing device, animage of a product code identifier placed on a product to be purchased;generating a transaction file with respect to a transaction to be madeby a customer at the store, the transaction file containing a productcode of the product to be purchased, the product code being transmittedfrom the user computing device when the user computer device capturesthe image of the product code identifier placed on the product, a firstuser ID of the customer that was created for the customer when thecustomer installed the self-registration program on the user computingdevice, and an indicator of whether or not the customer has opted in toreceive electronic receipts; generating an electronic receipt for thetransaction based on the transaction file; storing a conversion tablecontaining the first user ID for the self-registration, in associationwith a second user ID of the customer that was created for the customerwhen the customer opted in to receive electronic receipts; convertingthe first user ID contained in the transaction file to the second userID based on the conversion table, when the indicator indicates that thecustomer has opted in to receive electronic receipts; and storing in astorage device by the electronic receipt server, the electronic receiptin association with the second user ID converted from the first user ID.The electronic receipt server transmits the stored electronic receiptover the network in response to a request received over the network froma computing device associated with the second user ID.

Embodiments of a commodity sales processing system in which aself-registration system is associated with an electronic receiptsystem, are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

[Commodity Sales Processing System]

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a retail store 100 having a commoditysales processing system, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the commoditysales processing system.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the commodity sales processing systemincludes a facing-type POS (Point Of Sales) apparatus 10, a self-servicePOS apparatus 20, and a relay device 30 in the retail store 100.Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the commodity sales processing systemincludes a store server 40, a self-registration support server(hereinafter referred to as a support server) 50, and a router 60 in theretail store 100. Moreover, in the retail store 100, the commodity salesprocessing system includes a LAN (Local Area Network) 70 with which thePOS apparatuses 10 and 20, the relay device 30, the store server 40, thesupport server 50, and the router 60 are connected. The LAN 70 may be awired LAN or a wireless LAN. The router 60 relays data communicationbetween the LAN 70 and a network 200.

In the commodity sales processing system, POS apparatuses 10, 20, andthe support server 50 function as a commodity sales processingapparatus. The support server includes a registration unit having acommodity detector configured to detect commodity codes input bycustomers, and the POS apparatuses 10, 20 function as a settlement unithaving an input device for inputting sales data.

The electronic receipt server 80 is connected with the network 200. Theelectronic receipt server 80 also stores electronic receipt data, i.e.,electronic receipts. By accessing the electronic receipt server 80 froman information processing apparatus 210 connected with the network 200,a customer can browse his or her electronic receipts on the informationprocessing apparatus 210. The information processing apparatus 210 maybe a personal computer, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a tabletterminal, or the like. The network 200 is, for example, the Internet ora mobile communication network.

Although only the commodity sales processing system of one store isshown in FIG. 2, the commodity sales processing systems of a pluralityof retail stores 100 may be connected with the network 200. Moreover,the commodity sales processing systems of the retail stores 100 mayshare the electronic receipt server 80.

[POS Apparatus (Commodity Sales Data Processing Apparatus)]

As shown in FIG. 1, the facing-type POS apparatus 10 located at acheckout counter 2 in a checkout region 1 is operated by a cashier 3.The POS apparatus 10 includes a scanner 11 located on the checkoutcounter 2. The scanner 11 is also operated by the cashier 3. The cashierfaces a customer 4 waiting to check out across the checkout counter 2.The cashier 3 reads, with the scanner 11, a barcode affixed on acommodity 5 to be purchased by the customer 4. The scanner 11 sendsbarcode data obtained by reading the barcode to the POS apparatus 10.The POS apparatus 10 specifies the commodity 5 according to the barcodedata sent from the scanner 11 and registers sales quantities, the salesamount and the like of the commodity 5, in a transaction region inmemory. Further, the POS apparatus 10 displays the commodity name, thesales quantities, the sales amount and total amount of the commodities 5registered in the transaction region, on a display 13. The display 13includes a display 13 a for operator and a display 13 b for customer.

If the commodities 5 purchased by the customer 4 are all registered,then the cashier 3 inputs payment data through the input device of thePOS apparatus 10. For example, the cashier 3 operates a keyboard 12 toinput an amount paid by the customer. The POS apparatus 10 executes asettlement process on the commodity transaction with the customer 4according to the payment data. During the settlement process, the POSapparatus 10 drives a printer 14 to issue a receipt (hereinafterreferred to as a paper receipt) by printing the details of the commoditytransaction on receipt paper. If the customer 4 is an electronic receiptmember (subscriber), then the issuing of the paper receipt may beoptional.

The self-service POS apparatus 20 is located at the checkout region 1for the customer 4 to operate. The POS apparatus 20 has a scanner 21, atouch panel 22, an automatic change dispensing machine 23, and a printer24 for printing a receipt. The customer 4 standing in front of the POSapparatus 20 operates the scanner 21 to read the barcode affixed on acommodity 5 to be purchased by the customer 4. The POS apparatus 20specifies the commodity 5 according to the barcode read by the scanner21 and registers the sales quantities, the sales amount, and the like ofthe commodity 5 in a transaction region. Further, the POS apparatus 20displays the commodity name, the sales quantities, the sales amount, andthe total amount of commodities 5 registered in the transaction region,on the touch panel 22.

After the registration processing of the sales commodities 5 iscompleted, the customer 4 inputs payment data through the input deviceof the POS apparatus 20. For example, the customer 4 operates the touchpanel 22 to select a payment method. If a cash payment is selected, thecustomer 4 puts cash into the automatic change dispensing machine 23. Ifan electronic money payment is selected, the customer 4 directs anelectronic money card to a reader/writer (not shown). The POS apparatus20 carries out a settlement process for the commodities transaction forthe customer 4 according to the payment data. During the settlementprocess, the POS apparatus 20 drives the printer 24 to issue a paperreceipt on which the content of the commodity transaction is printed. Ifthe customer 4 is an electronic receipt member (subscriber), then theissuing of the paper receipt may be optional.

Instead of or in addition to the foregoing payment methods, otherpayment methods such as credit card payment and merchandise couponpayment may be included in the payment methods available in the POSapparatus 20. Instead or in addition to cash payment, other paymentmethods such as electronic money payment, credit card payment, ormerchandise coupon payment can also be included in the payment methodsavailable in the POS apparatus 10.

The POS apparatus 10 or 20 is referred to as a commodity sales dataprocessing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the POS apparatus 10 or 20. The POSapparatus 10 or 20 includes a processor 101, a main memory 102, anauxiliary storage device 103, a communication interface 104 and an I/O(Input/Output) interface 105. The processor 101 is connected with themain memory 102, the auxiliary storage device 103, the communicationinterface 104 and the I/O interface 105 via a system transmission line106 including an address bus line, a data bus line, a control signalline and the like.

The POS apparatus 10 or 20 comprises a computer including the processor101, the main memory 102, the auxiliary storage device 103, and thesystem transmission line 106 connecting these sections.

The processor 101 acts as a central component of the computer. Theprocessor 101 controls each section to perform the various functions ofthe POS apparatus 10 or 20 according to an operating system orapplication program.

The main memory 102 acts as main memory of the computer. The main memory102 includes a nonvolatile memory unit and a volatile memory unit. Themain memory 102 stores an operating system or application program in thenonvolatile memory unit. Further, in some cases, the main memory 102also stores data required by the processor 101 to control each componentin the nonvolatile or volatile memory unit. The main memory 102 uses thevolatile memory unit as a work area for the processor 101 to rewritedata properly. The work area includes a transaction region. Thetransaction region is a region in which the sales data of thecommodities sold in a commodity transaction and the settlement data ofthe commodity transaction are stored.

The auxiliary storage device 103 acts as auxiliary memory of thecomputer. The auxiliary storage device 103 may be, for example, anEEPROM (Electric Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a HDD (harddisk drive) or an SSD (solid state drive). The auxiliary storage device103 persistently stores the data used by the processor 101 to carry outvarious processes or the data generated in the process carried out bythe processor 101. The auxiliary storage device 103 may also store theforegoing operating system and application program.

The communication interface 104 is an interface for carrying out datacommunication between the store server 40 and the support server 50which are connected with each other via the LAN 70.

The I/O interface 105 is an interface for data communication amongvarious input/output devices. In the case of facing-type POS apparatuses10, the scanner 11, the keyboard 12, the display for operator 13 a, thedisplay for customer 13 b, and the printer 14 are connected with the I/Ointerface 105. In the case of the self-service POS apparatus 20, thescanner 21, the touch panel 22, the automatic change dispensing machine23, and the printer 24 are connected with the I/O interface 105.

No specific limitations are given to the number of the facing-type POSapparatuses 10 or the self-service POS apparatuses 20 installed in aretail store 100. A proper number of facing-type POS apparatuses 10 anda proper number of self-service POS apparatuses 20 are installed in theretail store 100 according to the scale or the layout inside the retailstore 100. Further, it is not necessary to include both of thefacing-type POS apparatuses 10 and the self-service POS apparatuses 20.Instead, only one of the facing-type POS apparatus 10 and theself-service POS apparatus 20 may be installed at the checkout region 1for the commodity sales processing system.

The POS ID of each of the POS apparatuses 10 and 20 is stored in theauxiliary storage device 103. The POS ID of each of the POS apparatuses10 and 20 may also be stored in the main memory 102. The POS ID is thefixed identification information of each of the POS apparatuses 10 and20. The POS ID of each of the POS apparatuses 10 and 20 is also unique.The store server 40 and the support server 50 identify each of the POSapparatuses 10 and 20 connected with the LAN 70 according to the POS IDof the POS apparatus 10 or 20.

Each of the POS apparatuses 10 and 20 is marked with a barcode 7representing the POS ID thereof. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, in thecase of the facing-type POS apparatuses 10, a barcode 7 is marked on asurface of the scanner 11 opposite to the side where the cashier 3operates the scanner 11, that is, on the side of the customer 4. In thecase of the self-service POS apparatus 20, the barcode 7 is marked onthe front side of the housing of the self-service POS apparatus 20opposite to the customer 4. Further, the position of the barcode 7 shownin FIG. 1 is only an example. No specific limitations are given to theposition of the barcode 7. In addition, the barcode 7 may be replaced bya two-dimensional code.

[Store Server]

As shown in FIG. 2, the store server 40 includes a commodity database41. In the commodity database 41, the commodity data, for example, thecommodity name and the price, of each commodity sold in the retail store100 is stored in association with the commodity code thereof. Thecommodity code is unique to each commodity 5. Each commodity 5 has abarcode of the commodity displayed thereon. By reading the barcode usingthe scanner 11 or 21, the POS apparatus 10 or 20 registers the salesdata of the commodity 5 in the transaction region.

The store server 40 collects, via the LAN 70, the sales data of eachcommodity 5 registered by each of POS apparatuses 10 and 20. Then, thestore server 40 sorts the collected sales data by commodity, by timerange and the like. That is, the POS apparatus 10 or 20 and the storeserver 40 function as a well-known POS system.

[Relay Device]

The relay device 30 conforms to, for example, a wireless communicationstandard such as Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity). One or more of the relaydevices 30 are located in the retail store so that the wirelesscommunication region of the relay devices 30 substantially covers theentire region of a sales floor 6 and the checkout region 1 in the retailstore 100. The relay device 30 sends or receives data through wirelesscommunication, using one or more portable information terminals 400existing in the wireless communication region. No specific limitationsare given to the number of the relay devices 30. A proper number ofrelay devices 30 may be installed in the retail store 100 according tothe scale or the internal layout of the retail store 100.

[Portable Information Terminal]

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the portable information terminal 400. Theportable information terminal 400 includes a processor 401, a mainmemory 402, an auxiliary storage device 403, a touch panel 404, a cameraunit 405, and a wireless unit 406. The processor 401 is connected withthe main memory 402, the auxiliary storage device 403, the touch panel404, the camera unit 405, and the wireless unit 406 via a systemtransmission line 407 including an address bus line, a data bus line, acontrol signal line, and the like.

The portable information terminal 400 comprises a computer including theprocessor 401, the main memory 402, the auxiliary storage device 403 andthe system transmission line 407 connecting these sections.

The processor 401 acts as a main component of the computer. Theprocessor 401 controls each section to perform the functions of theportable information terminal 400 according to an operating system orapplication program.

The main memory 402 acts as main memory of the computer. The main memory402 includes a nonvolatile memory unit and a volatile memory unit. Themain memory 402 stores an operating system or application program in thenonvolatile memory unit. Further, the main memory 402 also stores thedata required by the processor 401 to control each section in thenonvolatile or volatile memory unit. The main memory 402 uses thevolatile memory unit as a work area for the processor 401 to rewritedata properly.

The auxiliary storage device 403 acts as auxiliary memory of thecomputer. The auxiliary storage device 403 is, for example, an EEPROM. AHDD and an SSD may also be used as the auxiliary storage device 403. Theauxiliary storage device 403 persistently stores the data used by theprocessor 401 to carry out various processes or the data generated inthe process carried out by the processor 401. The auxiliary storagedevice 403 may also store the foregoing operating system and applicationprogram.

The touch panel 404 functions as the input device and a display deviceof the portable information terminal 400. An icon for starting theforegoing application program may be displayed on the touch panel 404.

The camera unit 405 has a resolution that is sufficient to recognize abarcode. The wireless unit 406 sends data to or receives data from therelay device 30 through wireless communication. For example, amongportable information processing apparatuses such as smart phones, mobilephones and tablet terminals, an information processing apparatus havingthe camera unit 405 and the wireless unit 406 functions as the portableinformation terminal 400.

By executing a self-registration terminal program P1, the portableinformation terminal 400 with such a structure functions as aninformation terminal corresponding to a self-registration system. Theself-registration system can perform the registration process in placeof the POS apparatus 10 or 20 by enabling the customer 4 to registerdata of a sales commodity through the information terminal. Thesettlement process of the commodity purchase is executed by the POSapparatus 10 or 20 in the conventional manner.

When the processor executes the self-registration terminal program P1,the portable information terminal 400 functions as an informationterminal corresponding to the self-registration system. Theself-registration terminal program P1 is stored in the auxiliary storagedevice 403. Further, a self-registration management region W1 is formedin the auxiliary storage device 403 of the portable information terminal400.

By executing an electronic receipt terminal program P2, the portableinformation terminal 400 functions as an information terminalcorresponding to an electronic receipt system. The electronic receiptsystem is a system which formats the information of a receipt (receiptdata) generated by each of the POS apparatuses 10 and 20, stores theelectronic receipt data in the electronic receipt server 80, such thatthe receipt data can be retrieved by the information processingapparatus 210 via the network 200. That is, the portable terminalcontaining the electronic receipt terminal program P2 functions as theinformation processing apparatus 210.

When the processor 401 executes the electronic receipt terminal programP2, the portable information terminal 400 functions as an informationterminal corresponding to the electronic receipt system. The electronicreceipt terminal program P2 is stored in the auxiliary storage device403. Further, an electronic receipt management region W2 is formed inthe auxiliary storage device 403 of the portable information terminal400.

[Support Server (Commodity Data Input Support Server)]

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the support server 50. The support server50 includes a processor 501, a main memory 502, an auxiliary storagedevice 503, and a communication interface 504. The processor 501 isconnected with the main memory 502, the auxiliary storage device 503,and the communication interface 504 via a system transmission line 505including an address bus line, a data bus line, a control signal line,and the like.

The support server 50 comprises a computer having the processor 501, themain memory 502, the auxiliary storage device 503, and the systemtransmission line 505 connecting these sections.

The processor 501 acts as a main component of the computer. Theprocessor 501 controls each section to perform the functions of thesupport server 50 according to an operating system or applicationprogram.

The main memory 502 acts as main memory of the computer. The main memory502 includes a nonvolatile memory unit and a volatile memory unit. Themain memory 502 stores an operating system or application program in thenonvolatile memory unit. Further, the main memory 502 may also store thedata needed by the processor 501 to control each section in thenonvolatile or volatile memory unit. The main memory 502 uses thevolatile memory unit as a work area for the processor 501 to rewritedata properly.

The auxiliary storage device 503 acts as auxiliary memory of thecomputer. The auxiliary storage device 503 is, for example, an EEPROM, aHDD, or an SSD. The auxiliary storage device 503 persistently stores thedata used by the processor 501 to carry out various processes or thedata generated by the process carried out by the processor 501. Theauxiliary storage device 503 may also store the foregoing operatingsystem and application program.

The communication interface 504 is an interface for data communicationbetween the store server 40 and each of POS apparatuses 10 and 20 whichare connected with each other via the LAN 70.

The support server 50 having the foregoing structure functions as acommodity data input support server that supports a user input ofcommodity data related to a self-registration process, and has aself-registration server program P3 in the auxiliary storage device 503.Further, the support server 50 forms a store information region W3 and atransaction file region W4 in the auxiliary storage device 503.

The self-registration server program P3 stays in the support server 50.Through the support server 50 executing the self-registration serverprogram P3 in cooperation with the portable information terminal 400executing the self-registration terminal program P1, the customer 4 cancarry out a self-registration process for commodities to be purchased.

The store information region W3 is a region for storing informationrelating to the retail store (seller) 100, in which the support server50 is arranged, for example, seller information such as the name of astore.

The transaction file region W4 is a region for storing a commoditytransaction file 510 having a data structure shown in FIG. 6. Thecommodity transaction file 510 is formed for each customer 4 executing aself-registration process. A plurality of commodity transaction files510 corresponding to a plurality of customers 4 can be synchronouslystored in the transaction file region W4.

The data in the commodity transaction file 510 consists of aself-registration ID, store information, an association flag F, one ormore commodity sales data, and a total sales data.

The self-registration ID (first ID) is a unique code for identifying acustomer 4 who performs a self-registration operation. That is, theself-registration ID (first ID) is an ID of the user of the portableinformation terminal 400. A self-registration ID is set for eachcustomer 4 when each customer 4 installs the self-registration terminalprogram P1 in the portable information terminal 400. Theself-registration ID is used as an authentication ID for a customer 4 tolog into the support server 50 from the portable information terminal400. If the customer 4 logs into the support server 50, then theself-registration ID is stored in the self-registration managementregion W1 of the portable information terminal 400. Each customer 4 isassigned an optional but unique self-registration ID.

The association flag F is 1-bit data indicating whether or not theself-registration system is associated with the electronic receiptsystem. A customer 4 who installs the self-registration terminal programP1 and the electronic receipt terminal program P2 in the portableinformation terminal 400 can make the self-registration system becomeassociated with the electronic receipt system. That is, the customer 4can download details of the transaction for the commoditiesself-registered to the portable information terminal 400 as anelectronic receipt and browse the details of the commodity transaction.Whether or not the self-registration system is associated with theelectronic receipt system can be optionally set by the customer 4. Ifthe association of the self-registration system with the electronicreceipt system is set by the customer 4, then an association flag F isset in the self-registration management region W1 of the portableinformation terminal 400. If the association is not set, then theassociation flag F is not set therein. The customer 4 can change thesetting of the association flag F by operating the portable informationterminal 400.

Further, the support server 50 can use, for example, a conventionalserver device or a conventional computing device as the basic hardwarethereof. The support server 50 may not initially contain theself-registration server program P3 in the auxiliary storage device 503thereof, and the self-registration server program P3 may be installedlater. In this case, the self-registration server program P3 isdelivered by being recorded in a removable recording medium such as amagnetic disc, a magneto-optical disc, a compact disc, or asemiconductor memory, or by being downloaded through a network.Moreover, in this case, the self-registration server program P3 iswritten into the auxiliary storage device 503 through an operation ofthe user.

[Electronic Receipt Server]

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the electronic receipt server 80. Theelectronic receipt server 80 includes a processor 801, a main memory802, an auxiliary storage device 803 and a communication interface 804.The processor 801 is connected with the main memory 802, the auxiliarystorage device 803, and the communication interface 804 via a systemtransmission line 805 including an address bus line, a data bus line, acontrol signal line, and the like.

The electronic receipt server 80 comprises a computer having theprocessor 801, the main memory 802, the auxiliary storage device 803,and a system transmission line 805 connecting these sections.

The processor 801 acts as a main component of the computer. Theprocessor 801 controls each section to perform the functions of theelectronic receipt server 80 according to an operating system orapplication program.

The main memory 802 acts as main memory of the computer. The main memory802 includes a nonvolatile memory unit and a volatile memory unit. Themain memory 802 stores an operating system or application program in thenonvolatile memory unit. Further, the main memory 802 may also store thedata required by the processor 801 to control each component in thenonvolatile or volatile memory unit. The main memory 802 uses thevolatile memory unit as a work area for the processor 801 to rewritedata properly.

The auxiliary storage device 803 acts as auxiliary memory of thecomputer. The auxiliary storage device 803 is, for example, an EEPROM,an HDD, or an SSD. The auxiliary storage device 803 persistently storesthe data used by the processor 801 to carry out various processes or thedata resulting from the process carried out by the processor 801. Theauxiliary storage device 803 may store also the foregoing operatingsystem and application program.

The communication interface 804 is an interface for the datacommunication between the store server 40 and the information processingapparatus 210 which are connected with each other via the network 200.

The electronic receipt server 80 having this structure contains anelectronic receipt server program P4 in the auxiliary storage device803. Further, the electronic receipt server 80 has an electronic receiptregion W5 and a linkage table region W6 in the auxiliary storage device803.

The electronic receipt server program P4 is stored in the electronicreceipt server 80. Through execution of the electronic receipt serverprogram P4 by the electronic receipt server 80 and the electronicreceipt terminal program P2, the portable information terminal 400 candisplay an electronic receipt thereon.

The electronic receipt region W5 is a region for storing an electronicreceipt file 810 having a data structure shown in FIG. 8. The electronicreceipt file 810 is formed for each commodity transaction for which anelectronic receipt is generated. A plurality of electronic receipt files810 corresponding to a plurality of commodity transactions can besimultaneously stored in the electronic receipt region W5.

The data in the electronic receipt file 810 consists of an electronicreceipt ID, a store name, a transaction date and time and a totalamount, which represent simplified data of an electronic receipt, andthe actual data of the electronic receipt. Further, the simplified dataare not limited to the combination of a store name, a transaction dateand time, and a total amount. For example, the simplified data may be acombination of a store name and a transaction date and time, or thecombination of a transaction date and time, and a total amount. Further,other items different from a store name, a transaction date and time,and a total amount may also be contained in the simplified data.

The electronic receipt ID (second ID) is a unique code for identifying acustomer 4 using the electronic receipt system. To use the electronicreceipt system, a customer 4 carries out a member registration operationwith respect to a system manager in advance. The customer 4 whocompleted the member registration receives a fixed electronic receipt IDassigned by the system manager. The electronic receipt ID is used as anauthentication ID for the customer 4 to log into the electronic receiptserver 80 from the portable information terminal 400. If the customer 4logs into the electronic receipt server 80 from the portable informationterminal 400, an electronic receipt ID is stored in the electronicreceipt management region W2 of the portable information terminal 400.Each customer 4 who completed the member registration receives a uniqueelectronic receipt ID. That is, the electronic receipt ID (second ID) isan ID used by the customer to receive an electronic receipt.

The linkage table region W6 is a region for storing a linkage table 820having a data structure shown in FIG. 9. The linkage table 820 storesthe electronic receipt ID of a customer 4 who sets the association ofthe self-registration system with the electronic receipt system inassociation with a self-registration ID. That is, when the customer 4sets the association of the self-registration system with the electronicreceipt system, the electronic receipt ID of the customer 4 is stored inthe linkage table 820 in association with a self-registration ID.

Here, the electronic receipt server 80 can be set up using, for example,a conventional server device or computer device as the basic hardwarethereof. The electronic receipt server 80 may not initially contain theelectronic receipt server program P4 in the auxiliary storage device 803thereof, and the electronic receipt server program P4 may be installedlater. In this case, the electronic receipt server program P4 isrecorded in a removable recording medium such as a magnetic disc, amagneto-optical disc, a compact disc, or a semiconductor memory, or bybeing downloaded through a network. Moreover, in this case, theelectronic receipt server program P4 is written into the auxiliarystorage device 803 through an operation of the user.

[Operation of Commodity Sales Processing System]

Next, an operation carried out by the commodity sales processing systemwhen the self-registration system is associated with the electronicreceipt system is described below with reference to flowcharts of FIG.10-FIG. 13. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a main procedure of aprocess carried out by the processor 401 of the portable informationterminal 400 according to the self-registration terminal program P1.FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating main operation of a process carriedout by the processor 501 of the support server 50 according to theself-registration server program P3. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustratinga main procedure of a process carried out by the processor 101 of thePOS apparatus 10 or 20 according to a control program when the POSapparatus receives a settlement request (described below). FIG. 13 is aflowchart illustrating main procedures of a process carried out by theprocessor 801 of an electronic receipt server 80 according to theelectronic receipt server program P4. Here, the content of eachprocessing described below with reference to FIG. 10-FIG. 13 is merelyan example, and various other processes that can achieve the samestructure can be properly performed.

Before shopping in the retail store 100, the customer 4 operates thetouch panel 404 of the portable information terminal 400 to start theself-registration terminal program P1. That is, the customer 4 touchesthe icon to launch the self-registration terminal program P1, displayedon the touch panel 404. If the self-registration terminal program P1 isstarted, then the processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400starts the process shown in FIG. 10.

First, the processor 401 determines whether or not the customer haslogged into the support server 50 (Act 1). If the self-registrationterminal program P1, after being launched, is ended without being loggedout, the login state of the customer is maintained. A self-registrationID serving as an authentication ID is stored in the self-registrationmanagement region W1 during the login state.

If the customer has not logged into the support server (No in Act 1),the processor 401 displays a login screen on the touch panel 404 (Act2). A customer 4 logs in by inputting a self-registration ID on thelogin screen. The customer 4 may input a self-registration ID and apassword.

When the customer logs in, the processor 401 wirelessly sends logininformation including the self-registration ID. The login information isreceived by the relay device 30 and transmitted therefrom to the supportserver 50 via the LAN 70. The support server 50 authenticates the loginoperation. Then, the support server 50 notifies the portable informationterminal 400 of the result of the authentication through a route inverseto that for login information.

The processor 401 determines whether or not the login is approved (Act3). If it is determined that the login is not approved (No in Act 3),the processor 401 may perform a login operation again (Act 2). If it isdetermined that the login is approved (Yes in Act 3), the processor 401stores the self-registration ID used for the login operation in theself-registration management region W1 (Act 4).

If the login is approved and the self-registration ID is stored in theself-registration management region W1 or the self-registration ID isstored in the self-registration management region W1 during the loginprocess (Yes in Act 1), the processor 401 extracts the self-registrationID from the self-registration management region W1. Further, theprocessor 401 extracts an association flag F in the self-registrationmanagement region W1 (Act 5). The association flag F is set as ‘1’ ifthe user sets the association of the self-registration system with theelectronic receipt system. The association flag F is set as ‘0’ if theassociation of the self-registration system with the electronic receiptsystem is not set.

The processor 401 wirelessly sends a registration start commandcontaining the self-registration ID and the association flag F extractedfrom the self-registration management region W1 (Act 6). Theregistration start command wirelessly sent from the wireless unit 406 isreceived by the relay device 30 and transmitted therefrom to the supportserver 50 via the LAN 70.

As shown in FIG. 11, the processor 501 of the support server 50 in whichthe self-registration server program P3 runs, waits for the registrationstart command (Act 21). If the processor 501 receives the registrationstart command sent from the portable information terminal 400, theprocessor 501 acquires store information from the store informationregion W3 of the auxiliary storage device 503 (Act 22). Moreover, theprocessor 501 generates a commodity transaction file 510 in thetransaction file region W4. Then, the processor 501 stores theself-registration ID and the association flag F that are contained inthe registration start command and the store information acquired fromthe store information region W3 in the commodity transaction file 510(Act 23).

The processor 501 sends the store information to the portableinformation terminal 400 from where the registration start command isoriginally sent (Act 24). The store information is wirelessly sent fromthe relay device 30 and received by the wireless unit 406 of theportable information terminal 400 that has sent the registration startcommand. Further, not limited to the foregoing sequence, Act 22 and Act23 may be executed in a reverse sequence. Further, not limited to theforegoing sequence, Act 23 and Act 24 may be executed in a reversesequence.

As shown in FIG. 10, the processor 401 of the portable informationterminal 400 which has sent the registration start command waits toreceive the store information (Act 7). If the wireless unit 406 receivesthe store information (Yes in Act 7), the processor 401 displays aregistration screen on the touch panel 404 (Act 8). Further, theprocessor 401 drives the camera unit 405 (Act 9). Here, not limited tothe foregoing sequence, Act 8 and Act 9 may be executed in a reversesequence.

The registration screen displays, for example, the store information.Detail columns, including columns of ‘commodity name’, ‘price’, and‘total amount’ are displayed on the registration screen. Information forurging the customer 4 to carry out a self-registration operation mayalso be displayed on the registration screen. The customer 4 who viewedthe registration screen starts shopping on the sales floor 6. Then, thecustomer 4 photographs the barcode affixed on a commodity 5 to bepurchased, using the camera unit 405. The photographed commodity 5 isplaced in a shopping cart.

The processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400 waits until abarcode is detected from an image captured by the camera unit 405 (Act10). If the barcode is detected (Yes in Act 10), the processor 401 addsthe self-registration ID stored in the self-registration managementregion W1 to the barcode data and wirelessly sends the processed barcodedata (Act 11). The barcode data containing the self-registration ID sentfrom the wireless unit 406 is received by the relay device 30 andtransmitted therefrom to the support server 50 via the LAN 70.

As shown in FIG. 11, the processor 501 of the support server 50 whichhas sent the store information to the portable information terminal 400waits until the barcode data are sent from the portable informationterminal 400 (Act 25). If the processor 501 receives the barcode datacontaining the self-registration ID (Yes in Act 25), the processor 501determines whether the barcode data are a commodity code or a POS ID(Act 26 and Act 27). A barcode 7 of a POS ID is different in the codesystem from a barcode of a commodity code. The processor 501 determinesthe type of the barcode according to the difference in the code system.

If the barcode data represent a commodity code (Yes in Act 26: commoditydetector), the processor 501 accesses the store server 40. Then, theprocessor 501 acquires, from the commodity database 41 of the storeserver 40, commodity data (e.g. commodity name, price) associated withthe commodity code (Act 28).

The processor 501 generates commodity sales data containing a commoditycode, a commodity name, a unit price, sales quantities, a sales amount(Act 29) after the processor 501 acquires the commodity data. Moreover,the processor 501 registers the commodity sales data in the commoditytransaction file 510 specified by the self-registration ID attached tothe barcode data (Act 30: storage module). Further, the processor 501sends the commodity sales data to the portable information terminal 400from which the barcode data have been originally sent (Act 31). Thecommodity sales data are wirelessly sent from the relay device 30 andreceived by the wireless unit 406 of the portable information terminal400 that has sent the barcode data. Further, not limited to theforegoing sequence, Act 30 and Act 31 may be executed in a reversesequence.

The processor 501 completing the processing in Act 30 and Act 31 waitsuntil new barcode data are from the same portable information terminal400 (Act 25).

As shown in FIG. 10, the processor 401 of the portable informationterminal 400 which sends the barcode data waits until data are sent fromthe support server 50 (Act 12). If the processor 401 receives data fromthe support server 50 (Yes in Act 12), the processor 401 determineswhether or not the data are commodity sales data (Act 13). If it isdetermined that the data are commodity sales data (Yes in Act 13), theprocessor 401 displays the commodity name, the price, and the like of apurchased commodity contained in the commodity sales data in detailcolumns of the registration screen (Act 14). Then, the processor 401waits for detection of a new barcode from an image captured by thecamera unit 405 (Act 10).

In this way, the processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400carries out Act 10-Act 14 every time a customer 4 photographs thebarcode affixed on a commodity 5 using the camera unit 405. On the otherhand, the support server 50 carries out Act 25-Act 31. As a result, acommodity transaction file 510 containing the self-registration ID ofthe customer 4 is formed in the transaction file region W4 of thesupport server 50. Then, the store information and the association flagF as well as the sales data (commodity data) of the commodity 5purchased by the customer 4 are stored in the commodity transaction file510.

The customer 4 who has finished shopping in the sales floor 6 goes tothe checkout region 1 to carry out settlement operation. The settlementmay be carried out at the checkout counter 2 or the self-service POSapparatus 20. To settle the payment for the commodities to be purchasedat the checkout counter 2, the customer photographs the barcode 7 markedon the scanner 11 located on the checkout counter 2 using the cameraunit 405. To settle the payment of purchased commodities using theself-service POS apparatus 20, the customer 4 photographs the barcode 7marked on the housing of the POS apparatus 20 using the camera unit 405.

If the customer 4 photographs the barcode 7 using the camera unit 405,the processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400 carries outan operation same as the one carried out when the customer 4 photographsthe barcode affixed on a commodity 5. That is, if a barcode is detectedfrom an image obtained by the camera unit 405 (Yes in Act 10), theprocessor 401 attaches the self-registration ID stored in theself-registration management region W1 to the barcode data andwirelessly sends the barcode data along with the self-registration ID(Act 11). The barcode data containing the self-registration ID sent fromthe wireless unit 406 are received by the relay device 30 andtransmitted therefrom to the support server 50 via the LAN 70.

On the other hand, if the processor 501 receives the barcode datacontaining the self-registration ID (Yes in Act 25), the processor 501of the support server 50 determines whether the data are a barcode of acommodity code or a barcode 7 of a POS ID (Act 26 and Act 27). If thedata are a barcode 7 of a POS ID (Yes in Act 27), the processor 501determines that the POS apparatus 10 or 20 corresponding to the POS IDis a settlement object (settlement POS apparatus) (Act 32).

For example, the processor 501 inquires each of the POS apparatuses 10and 20 that are connected with each other via the LAN 70 about the POSID. Moreover, the processor 501 determines that the POS apparatus 10 or20 in response to the POS ID detected according to the barcode data is asettlement POS apparatus. The processor 501 sends a settlement requestto the settlement POS apparatus 10 or 20 if the settlement POS apparatus10 or 20 is determined (Act 33). Here, the settlement request is sent tothe settlement POS apparatus 10 or 20 via the LAN 70.

The processor 101 of the settlement POS apparatus 10 or 20 receiving thesettlement request carries out a process in accordance with theprocedure shown in FIG. 12. That is, the processor 101 determineswhether or not a commodity transaction is being continued (Act 41).

In case of the self-service POS apparatus 20, the commodity transactionof the customer 4 is ended when another customer photographs a barcode 7using the camera unit 405 thereof. However, in case of the facing-typePOS apparatuses 10, the commodity transaction of the customer 4 may notbe ended even when another customer photographs a barcode 7 using thecamera unit 405 thereof. If the commodity transaction of a customer isnot ended, the processor 101 determines that a commodity transaction isbeing continued. In this case (Yes in Act 41), the processor 101 waitsfor completion of the commodity transaction. If the commoditytransaction is completed (No in Act 41), the processor 101 sends anapproval response to the support server 50 (Act 42).

As shown in FIG. 11, the processor 501 of the support server 50 whichhas sent the settlement request to the settlement POS apparatus 10 or 20waits for an approval response (Act 34). After receiving the approvalresponse from the settlement POS apparatus 10 or 20 (Yes in Act 34), theprocessor 501 detects the commodity transaction file 510 having theself-registration ID attached to the barcode data. Then, the processor501 sends the data in the commodity transaction file 510 to thesettlement POS apparatus 10 or 20 (Act 35: a first transmitting module).

As shown in FIG. 12, the processor 101 of the settlement POS apparatus10 or 20 which has sent the approval response to the support server 50waits for the commodity transaction file 510 (Act 43). The processor 101loads the commodity sales data contained in the commodity transactionfile 510 to the transaction region of the main memory 102, if theprocessor 101 receives the data contained in the commodity transactionfile 510 from the support server 50 via the communication interface 504(Yes in Act 43). Then, the processor 101 displays the information, suchas the commodity name and the price, contained in the commodity salesdata loaded to the transaction region, on the display 13 a or the touchpanel 22 (Act 44).

Then, the processor 101 waits for input of payment data (Act 45). If thebarcode of a commodity is read by the scanner 11 or 21 while processor101 is waiting for the input of payment data, the processor 101identifies the commodity according to the barcode and loads the salesdata thereof to the transaction region.

If payment data are input via the keyboard 12 or the touch panel 22 (Yesin Act 45), then the processor 101 carries out, according to the paymentdata, a settlement process corresponding to the commodity sales datastored in the transaction region. During the settlement process, theprocessor 101 generates print data of the receipt data (Act 46: ageneration module).

After the settlement process is ended, the processor 101 checks theassociation flag F contained in the commodity transaction file 510 sentfrom the support server 50 (Act 47). Here, if the association flag F isset to be ‘1’, the customer 4 completing a self-registration operationsets the association of the self-registration system with the electronicreceipt system. If the association of the self-registration system withthe electronic receipt system is set (Act 47: Yes), the processor 101generates an electronic receipt by formatting the receipt data (Act 48).Further, the processor 101 displays, on the display 13 a or the touchpanel 22, a screen to inquire the customer 4 about whether or not toissue a paper receipt. Moreover, the processor 101 waits for an inputindicating whether or not to issue a paper receipt (Act 49: a receptionmodule).

Here, if an input indicating no issue of a paper receipt is receivedthrough the operation on the keyboard 12 or touch panel 22 (No in Act49), the processor 101 adds the self-registration ID contained in thecommodity transaction file 510 to the electronic receipt. Then, theprocessor 101 sends the electronic receipt having the self-registrationID added thereto, to the electronic receipt server 80 (Act 50: a secondtransmitting module).

On the other hand, if an input indicating issue of a paper receipt isreceived through the operation on the keyboard 12 or touch panel 22 (Yesin Act 49), the processor 101 controls the printer 14 or 24 to issue apaper receipt (Act 51: a control module). Also if the association flag Fcontained in the commodity transaction file 510 is set as ‘0’ (No in Act47), the processor 101 causes a paper receipt to be issued (Act 51).

In this way, if the electronic receipt is sent to the electronic receiptserver 80 or issue of a paper receipt is instructed, the processor 101sends a settlement end command to the support server 50 (Act 52). Then,the processor 101 ends the process carried out when a settlement requestis received.

As shown in FIG. 11, the processor 501 of the support server 50 whichhas sent the commodity transaction file 510 to the settlement POSapparatus 10 or 20 waits for a settlement end command (Act 36). If theprocessor 501 receives a settlement end command from the settlement POSapparatus 10 or 20 (Yes in Act 36), the processor 501 wirelessly sendsthe settlement end command to the portable information terminal 400which has sent the barcode data of a POS ID (Act 37). Further, theprocessor 501 deletes the commodity transaction file 510 the data inwhich is sent to the settlement POS apparatus 10 or 20, from thetransaction file region W4 (Act 38). Then, the processor 501 ends theprocess carried out after the registration start command is received.Further, not limited to the foregoing sequence, Act 37 and Act 38 may beexecuted in a reverse sequence. Further, the commodity transaction file510 deleted from the transaction file region W4 may also be stored inanother region formed in the auxiliary storage device 503.

As shown in FIG. 10, the processor 401 of the portable informationterminal 400 which receives the barcode data waits for data from thesupport server 50 (Act 12). If the data are received from the supportserver 50 (Yes in Act 12), the processor 401 determines whether or notthe data are commodity sales data (Act 13). If the received data are notcommodity sales data (No in Act 13), the processor 401 determineswhether or not the received data are an end command (Act 15). If thedata received are the end command (Yes in Act 15), the processor 401deletes the registration screen displayed on the touch panel 404 (Act16). Then, the processor 401 ends the process carried out according tothe self-registration terminal program P1.

As shown in FIG. 13, the processor 801 of the electronic receipt server80 waits to receive data (Act 61). After the processor 801 receives thedata via the network 200 (Yes in Act 61), the processor 801 determineswhether or not the data received are an electronic receipt (Act 62). Ifit is determined that the received data is an electronic receipt (Yes inAct 62), the processor 801 identifies the ID included in the data is aself-registration ID or an electronic receipt ID (Act 63).

If an electronic receipt ID is added to the electronic receipt (No inAct 63), the processor 801 generates an electronic receipt file 810containing the electronic receipt ID and the electronic receipt, andstores the generated electronic receipt file 810 in the electronicreceipt region W5 (Act 65).

If a self-registration ID is added to the electronic receipt (Yes in Act63), the processor 801 retrieves the linkage table 820. Then, theprocessor 801 searches an electronic receipt ID set in the linkage table820 in association with the self-registration ID (Act 64). Then, theprocessor 801 converts the self-registration ID to the electronicreceipt ID found in the linkage table 820. After converting theself-registration ID into the electronic receipt ID, the processor 801generates an electronic receipt file 810 containing the electronicreceipt ID obtained by the conversion and the electronic receipt andstores the generated electronic receipt file 810 in the electronicreceipt region W5 (Act 65). Then, the processor 801 ends the processcarried out when an electronic receipt is received.

In this way, the self-registration ID of a customer 4 who completed aself-registration operation is added to the electronic receipt of acommodity transaction of the commodities registered through theself-registration operation, and the electric receipt data containingthe self-registration ID are sent to the electronic receipt server 80.If the electronic receipt contains the self-registration ID, theelectronic receipt server 80 converts the self-registration ID into theelectronic receipt ID of the customer 4. Then, the electronic receiptserver 80 generates an electronic receipt file 810 containing theelectronic receipt ID and stores the generated electronic receipt file810 in the electronic receipt region W5. On the other hand, when theelectronic receipt server 80 receives electronic receipt containing anelectronic receipt ID but not a self-registration ID, the electronicreceipt server 80 generates an electronic receipt file 810 containingthe electronic receipt ID and stores the generated electronic receiptfile 810 in the electronic receipt region W5.

The electronic receipt ID is used as an authentication ID for thecustomer 4 who is an electronic receipt member (subscriber) to log inthe electronic receipt server 80 from the portable information terminal400. Thus, the customer 4 who completed a self-registration operationusing the portable information terminal 400 can browse, using theportable information terminal 400, the electronic receipt for thecommodity transaction of the commodities registered through theself-registration operation.

Further, not limited to the portable information terminal 400, theapparatus that can log in the electronic receipt server 80 using anelectronic receipt ID may also function as the information processingapparatus 210 such as a personal computer and the like. Thus, anelectronic receipt for a commodity transaction of the commoditiesregistered through a self-registration operation may also be browsed onthe information processing apparatus 210 such as a personal computer andthe like.

Moreover, the customer 4 and the cashier 3 do not need to input anelectronic receipt ID using the POS apparatus 10 or 20 for thecommodities registered through a self-registration operation. As aresult, the association of the self-registration system with theelectronic receipt system causes no increased workload for the customer4 and the cashier 3.

According to the present embodiment, the self-registration system cansimplify the commodity registration by the cashier and reduce timerequired for the settlement process. In addition, the electronic receiptsystem can reduce time required to issue paper receipts. By combiningthe self-registration system and the electronic receipt system,processing speed of the checkout region 1 can be largely improved, whichleads to reduction of customers' wait time at the checkout region 1.Further, as the customers 4 do not need to present their electronicreceipt ID at the checkout region 1, customer convenience can beimproved.

In the present embodiment, the POS apparatuses 10, 20 generate theelectronic receipt and transmit it to the electronic receipt server 80.Alternatively, the store server 40 or the support server 50 may generatethe electronic receipt and transmit it to the electronic receipt server80.

In case of the store server 40, the commodity sales data or the paymentdata that are necessary to generate the electronic receipt aretransmitted from the POS apparatuses 10, 20 to the store server 40. Onthe other hand, in case of the support server 50, the payment data andthe self-registration ID are transmitted from the POS apparatuses 10, 20to the support server 50, because the commodity sales data are stored inthe commodity transaction file 510 of the support server 50.

Second Embodiment

Next, a second embodiment is described below with reference to FIG.14-FIG. 16. Here, elements shown in FIG. 14-FIG. 16 that correspond tothose described in the first embodiment are depicted with same referencesigns and therefore may not be described in detail.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a portable information terminal 400-2according to the second embodiment. The portable information terminal400-2 is different from the portable information terminal 400 accordingto the first embodiment in the data stored in the self-registrationmanagement region W1 of the auxiliary storage device 403. That is, theportable information terminal 400-2 stores an electronic receipt ID inthe self-registration management region W1.

Similar to the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, the customer4 determines whether or not the self-registration system is associatedwith the electronic receipt system. If it is set that theself-registration system is associated with the electronic receiptsystem, the processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400 setsan association flag F in the self-registration management region W1.Further, the processor 401 stores the electronic receipt ID used by thecustomer 4 to log in the electronic receipt server 80 in theself-registration management region W1.

The electronic receipt ID is stored in the electronic receipt managementregion W2 by logging in the electronic receipt server 80. When settingthe association of the self-registration system with the electronicreceipt system, the customer 4 starts the electronic receipt terminalprogram P2 in advance to log into the electronic receipt server 80. Ifso, the electronic receipt ID is stored in electronic receipt managementregion W2, and then the processor 401 copies the electronic receipt IDstored in the electronic receipt management region W2 to theself-registration management region W1. The processor 401 also sets theassociation flag F. The electronic receipt ID is not deleted even if thecustomer 4 logs out of the electronic receipt server 80. Similarly, theassociation flag F is not reset, even if the customer 4 logs out of theelectronic receipt server 80. That is, if the association of theself-registration system with the electronic receipt system is set, theelectronic receipt ID is stored and the association flag F is set in theself-registration management region W1. When the association of theself-registration system with the electronic receipt system isdeactivated, the customer 4 launches the self-registration program P1and performs a predetermined operation to delete the electronic receiptID from the electronic receipt management region W2, and to clear theassociation flag.

FIG. 15 schematically illustrates a data structure of a commoditytransaction file 510-2 stored in the transaction file region W4 of thesupport server 50 according to the second embodiment. The commoditytransaction file 510-2 according to the second embodiment is differentfrom the commodity transaction file 510 according to the firstembodiment in the number of types of the IDs stored therein. Only aself-registration ID is stored in the commodity transaction file 510according to the first embodiment. However, besides theself-registration ID, an electronic receipt ID is also stored in thecommodity transaction file 510-2 according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a part of a process carried out bythe processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400-2 inaccordance with the self-registration terminal program P1 in the secondembodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, in the second embodiment, Acts 71 and72 are performed between Act 5 (detecting a self-registration ID and anassociation flag F) and Act 6 (sending a registration start command).

That is, the processor 401 carries out Act 71 after completing Act 5. InAct 71, the processor 401 determines whether or not an association flagF is detected in the self-registration management region W1. Noassociation flag F is detected if the association of theself-registration system with the electronic receipt system is not setin the portable information terminal 400. In this case, the processor401 carries out Act 6 as the result of Act 71 is determined to be ‘No’.That is, the processor 401 wirelessly sends the registration startcommand which is acquired from the self-registration management regionW1 containing the self-registration ID and the association flag F.

In contrast, the association flag F is detected if the association ofthe self-registration system with the electronic receipt system is setin the portable information terminal 400-2. In this case, the processor401 carries out Act 72 as the result of Act 71 is determined to be‘Yes’.

In Act 72, the processor 401 detects an electronic receipt ID from theself-registration management region W1. After detecting an electronicreceipt ID, the processor 401 carries out Act 6. That is, the processor401 wirelessly sends the registration start command containing aself-registration ID, an electronic receipt ID, and the association flagF, which are acquired from the self-registration management region W1.The process carried out after Act 6 in the second embodiment is the sameas that carried out after Act 6 in the first embodiment.

Then, similarly to the first embodiment, after receiving theregistration start command, the support server 50 carries out a processaccording to the procedure shown in FIG. 11. However, Act 23 in thesecond embodiment is partially different from Act 23 in the firstembodiment. Specifically, in Act 23 of the first embodiment, theprocessor 501 generates a commodity transaction file 510 according tothe self-registration ID and the association flag F that are containedin the received registration start command, and the store informationacquired in Act 22. In contrast, in Act 23 of the second embodiment, theprocessor 501 also generates a commodity transaction file 510 accordingto the self-registration ID and the association flag F that arecontained in the registration start command.

However, as described with reference to FIG. 16, in addition to theself-registration ID and the association flag F, an electronic receiptID may be also contained in the registration start command in somecases. In these cases, the processor 501 generates a commoditytransaction file 510-2 in Act 23. That is, the processor 501 generatesthe commodity transaction file 510-2 (storage module) according to theself-registration ID and the association flag F that are contained inthe received registration start command and the store informationacquired in Act 22.

Further, similarly to the first embodiment, the processor 101 of the POSapparatus 10 or 20 that receives the settlement request carries out aprocess in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. 12. However, inAct 5, the processor 101 attaches the electronic receipt ID contained inthe commodity transaction file 510-2 to an electronic receipt. Theself-registration ID is not added to the electronic receipt. Theprocessor 101 sends the electronic receipt containing the electronicreceipt ID to the electronic receipt server 80 (second transmittingmodule).

Similarly to the first embodiment, the processor 801 of the electronicreceipt server 80 that receives the electronic receipt carries out aprocess in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. 13. However, asthe ID added to the electronic receipt is an electronic receipt ID, theresult of the determination of Act 63 should be ‘NO.’ Thus, Act 64 isnot executed. For that reason, in the second embodiment, the linkagetable 820 is not needed in the electronic receipt server 80.

According to the second embodiment, the self-registration system can beassociated with the electronic receipt system d without increasing theworkload of the customer 4 and the cashier 3 in a similar manner as thefirst embodiment. As a result, the processing speed of the checkoutregion 1 can be largely improved, and customers' wait time can bereduced. Also, as the customers 4 do not need to present theirelectronic receipt ID at the checkout region 1, customer convenience canbe improved.

Moreover, according to the second embodiment, it would be beneficialthat a conventional electronic receipt server can be used as theelectronic receipt server 80.

Further, according to the second embodiment, the customer 4 can changethe setting of whether to receive a paper receipt or an electronicreceipt, by changing the setting of the association flag F in theportable information terminal 400-2. It would be easy for the customerto change the setting in each purchase transaction.

In the second embodiment, the association flag F is set in the portableinformation terminal 400-2, but the association flag F may not be settherein in other embodiments. For example, the electronic receipt servermay contain a member database, which stores the association flag F foreach electronic receipt ID. Then, if the registration start command fromthe portable information terminal 400-2 contains the electronic receiptID, the processor 501 of the support server 50 may receive theassociation flag F in the member database, and store the receivedassociation flag F in the commodity transaction file 510-2.

Third Embodiment

Next, a third embodiment is described below with reference to FIG.17-FIG. 18. Here, elements shown in FIG. 17-FIG. 18 that correspond tothose described in the first embodiment are depicted with the samereference signs and not described in detail.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a POS apparatus 10-3 or 20-3 according tothe third embodiment. The POS apparatus 10-3 or 20-3 is different fromthe POS apparatus 10 or 20 in formation of a linkage table region W7 inthe auxiliary storage device 103. The linkage table region W7 is aregion for storing a linkage table 820 having the data structure shownin FIG. 9.

In the first embodiment, the electronic receipt server 80 comprises alinkage table 820. In the third embodiment, the POS apparatus 10-3 or20-3 comprises a linkage table 820, and the electronic receipt server 80comprises no linkage table 820.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a main procedure of a processcarried out by the processor 101 of the POS apparatus 10-3 or 20-3according to a control program when the POS apparatus 10 or 20 receivesthe settlement request (described below). Further, the procedure (FIG.10) of the process carried out by the processor 401 of the portableinformation terminal 400 according to the self-registration terminalprogram P1 and the procedure (FIG. 11) of the process carried out by theprocessor 501 of the support server 50 according to theself-registration server program P3 in the third embodiment are the sameas those described in the first embodiment, and therefore not describedhere.

The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that Act48 is carried out after Act 81 if the result of the determination in Act47 is ‘Yes’, as shown in FIG. 18.

That is, if it is determined that the association flag F contained inthe commodity transaction file 510 sent from the support server 50 isset as ‘1’ (Yes in Act 47), the processor 101 searches the linkage table820 for the electronic receipt ID set in the linkage table 820 inassociation with the self-registration ID, and converts theself-registration ID into the electronic receipt ID (Act 81). Then, theprocessor 101 generates an electronic receipt by formatting the receiptdata (Act 48). Further, not limited to the foregoing sequence, Act 81and Act 48 may be executed in a reverse sequence.

That is, in the third embodiment, the POS apparatuses 10-3 and 20-3 bothcomprise a linkage table 820. If the association flag F contained in thecommodity transaction file 510 sent from the support server 50 is set as‘1’, the POS apparatus 10-3 or 20-3 converts the self-registration ID toan electronic receipt ID. Moreover, the POS apparatus 10-3 or 20-3 addsthe electronic receipt ID in the electronic receipt generated based onthe commodity sales data stored in the commodity transaction file 510and sends the processed electronic receipt to the electronic receiptserver 80.

As a result, also according to the third embodiment, theself-registration system can be associated with the electronic receiptsystem without increasing the workload of the customer 4 and the cashier3. Further, the processing speed of the checkout region 1 can be largelyimproved, and customers' wait time can be reduced. Also, as thecustomers 4 do not need to present their electronic receipt ID at thecheckout region 1, customer convenience can be improved.

Moreover, as an electronic receipt containing an electronic receipt IDis sent to the electronic receipt server 80, a conventional electronicreceipt can be used as the electronic receipt server 80.

In the present embodiment, the POS apparatuses 10, 20 generate theelectronic receipt and transmit it to the electronic receipt server 80.Alternatively, the store server 40 or the support server 50 may generatethe electronic receipt and transmit it to the electronic receipt server80.

In case of the store server 40, the commodity sales data or the paymentdata that are necessary to generate the electronic receipt aretransmitted from the POS apparatuses 10, 20 to the store server 40. Onthe other hand, in case of the support server 50, the payment data andthe self-registration ID are transmitted from the POS apparatuses 10, 20to the support server 50, because the commodity sales data are stored inthe commodity transaction file 510 of the support server 50.

Fourth Embodiment

A fourth embodiment is described below with reference to FIG. 19-FIG.28. Here, elements and steps shown in FIG. 19-FIG. 28 that correspond tothose described in the first embodiment are depicted with same referencesigns and therefore may not be described in detail. In the presentembodiment, a terminal ID is used instead of or in addition to theself-registration ID.

[Portable Information Terminal]

The portable information terminal 400 according to the fourth embodimenthas a storage region W0 for storing a terminal ID in the auxiliarystorage device 403. The terminal ID is an ID unique to the portableinformation terminal 400, such as a phone number.

[Support Server (Commodity Data Input Support Server)]

The data in the commodity transaction file 510 further consists of theterminal ID, in addition to the self-registration ID, store information,the association flag F, one or more commodity sales data, and total datadescribed in the first embodiment.

That is, the commodity transaction file 510 functions as a storagemodule which stores the commodity data of a sales commodity associatedwith a commodity code input from the portable information terminal 400,in association with the terminal ID of the portable information terminal400 and the self-registration ID of the customer 4. Here, the commoditydata may be stored in a file same as the one containing the terminal IDand the self-registration ID or, alternatively, different from the one.

[Electronic Receipt Server]

The data in the electronic receipt file 810 further consists of theterminal ID, in addition to the electronic receipt ID, the simplifieddata of an electronic receipt consisting of a store name, thetransaction date and time and a total amount, and the actual data of theelectronic receipt.

[Operations of Commodity Sales Processing System]

Next, an operation carried out by the commodity sales processing systemwhen the self-registration system is associated with the electronicreceipt system is described below with reference to flowcharts of FIG.19-FIG. 22. FIG. 19-FIG. 22 in the present embodiment correspond to FIG.10-FIG. 13 in the first embodiment, respectively.

In Act 5 in FIG. 19, the processor 401 further searches the terminal IDin the terminal ID region W0, in addition to the search of theself-registration ID in the self-registration management region W1.Then, in Act 6, the processor 401 wirelessly sends the registrationstart command containing the self-registration ID, the terminal ID, andthe association flag F.

In Act 23 in FIG. 20, the processor 501 of the support server 50, afterreceiving the registration start command, stores the self-registrationID, the terminal ID, and the association flag F in the registrationstart command in the commodity transaction file 510.

As a result, a commodity transaction file 510 containing theself-registration ID of the customer 4 and the terminal ID of theportable information terminal 400 used by the customer 4 is formed inthe transaction file region W4 of the support server 50.

In Act 35, the processor 501 of the support server 50 sends thecommodity data stored in the commodity transaction file 510, and theterminal ID and the self-registration ID, to the POS apparatus 10 or 20associated with a POS ID input from the portable information terminal400. Here, the processor 501 may send the commodity data, together withor separately from the terminal ID and the self-registration ID.

If the input indicating no issue of a paper receipt is received throughthe operation on the keyboard 12 or touch panel 22 (No in Act 49) inFIG. 21, the processor 101 further adds the terminal ID to theelectronic receipt, in addition to the self-registration ID. Then, inAct 50, the processor 101 sends the electronic receipt along with theself-registration ID and the terminal ID to the electronic receiptserver 80.

In FIG. 22, if an electronic receipt ID is added to the electronicreceipt (Act 63: No), the processor 801 creates an electronic receiptfile 810 containing the electronic receipt ID and the electronic receiptand stores the created electronic receipt file 810 in the electronicreceipt region W5 (Act 65). Here, no terminal ID is stored in theelectronic receipt file 810.

If a self-registration ID is not added to the electronic receipt (Act63: Yes), the processor 801 searches the linkage table 820. Then, theprocessor 801 converts the self-registration ID to an electronic receiptID which is associated therewith in the linkage table 820 (Act 64: aconversion module). After converting the self-registration ID to theelectronic receipt ID, the processor 801 creates an electronic receiptfile 810 according to the converted electronic receipt ID and theelectronic receipt, and stores the created electronic receipt file 810in the electronic receipt region W5. Here, the processor 801 stores theterminal ID attached to the electronic receipt together with theself-registration ID in the created electronic receipt file 810 (Act65). Then, the processor 801 ends the process carried out when receivingthe electronic receipt.

The processor 801 and the electronic receipt file 810 function as astorage module which stores the electronic receipt in association withthe electronic receipt ID corresponding to the self-registration ID, andthe terminal ID, with reference to the linkage table 820, when theterminal ID and the self-registration ID are associated with theelectronic receipt received from the POS apparatus 10 or 20.

In this way, the electronic receipt for the transaction of thecommodities registered by the customer through the self-registrationtransmitted to the electronic receipt server 80, together with theself-registration ID of the customer 4 and the terminal ID of theportable information terminal 400 used by the customer 4. If theelectronic receipt contains the self-registration ID, the electronicreceipt server 80 converts the self-registration ID to the electronicreceipt ID of the customer 4. Then, the electronic receipt server 80creates an electronic receipt file 810 containing the electronic receiptID and the terminal ID, and stores the created electronic receipt file810 in the electronic receipt region W5. On the other hand, if anelectronic receipt containing an electronic receipt ID rather than theself-registration ID, the electronic receipt server 80 creates anelectronic receipt file 810 containing the electronic receipt ID andstores the created electronic receipt file 810 in the electronic receiptregion W5.

In the electronic receipt file 810, in addition to the electronicreceipt ID, the terminal ID is also stored. The terminal ID is unique tothe portable information terminal 400. Thus, using the portableinformation terminal 400 containing the electronic receipt terminalprogram P1, an electronic receipt can be retrieved with a terminal ID,instead of an electronic receipt ID.

Next, the operations to view, on the portable information terminal 400,the electronic receipt generated through the association of theself-registration system with the electronic receipt system aredescribed with reference to FIG. 23-FIG. 28. FIG. 23 and FIG. 24 areflowcharts illustrating a main procedure of a process carried out by theprocessor 401 of the portable information terminal 400 according to theelectronic receipt terminal program P2. FIG. 25 is a flowchartillustrating a main procedure of a process carried out by the processor801 of the electronic receipt server 80 according to the electronicreceipt server program P4. FIG. 26-FIG. 28 schematically illustrate ascreen displayed on the touch panel 404 of the portable informationterminal 400. Further, the content of each process described below withreference to FIG. 23-FIG. 25 is merely an example, and other processesthat can achieve the same effect can be performed properly.

The customer 4 who desires to view an electronic receipt operates thetouch panel 404 of the portable information terminal 400 to activate theelectronic receipt terminal program P2. To activate it, the customertouches the icon of the electronic receipt terminal program P2 displayedon the touch panel 404. If the electronic receipt terminal program P2 isactivated, the processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400starts the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 23.

First, the processor 401 determines whether or not the electronicreceipt server 80 is being logged into (Act 71). If the electronicreceipt terminal program P2 is ended without being logged out, the loginstate is maintained. An electronic receipt ID used as an authenticationID is stored in the electronic receipt management region W2 during thelogin process.

If the electronic receipt server 80 is not being logged into (Act 81:No), the processor 401 displays a login screen on the touch panel 404for login (Act 72). The customer 4 inputs own electronic receipt ID onthe login screen to log in. The customer 4 may input an electronicreceipt ID and a password.

If the customer 4 logs in, the processor 401 wirelessly sends logininformation containing the electronic receipt ID. The log informationwirelessly sent from the wireless unit 406 is received by a base station(not shown) and sequentially forwarded to the electronic receipt server80 via the network 200. The electronic receipt server 80 authenticatesthe login. Moreover, the electronic receipt server 80 notifies theportable information terminal 400 of the result of the authenticationthrough a route inverse to that of login information.

The processor 401 determines whether or not the login is approved (Act73). If it is determined that the login is not approved (Act 73: No),the processor 401 may perform the login operation again (Act 72). If itis determined that the login is approved (Act 73: Yes), the processor401 stores the electronic receipt ID used for the login in theelectronic receipt management region W2 (Act 74).

If the electronic receipt ID is stored in the electronic receiptmanagement region W2 as the login is approved or when the login isongoing (Act 71: Yes), the processor 401 displays the electronic receiptID on the touch panel 404 (Act 75).

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of a screen G1 displayed on the touchpanel 404 in Act 75. As shown in FIG. 26, a barcode B1, a ‘view’ buttonB2 and an ‘end’ button B3 are displayed on the screen G1. The barcode B1represents the electronic receipt ID. An electronic receipt member whodoes not set the association with the self-registration system butprefers reception of the electronic receipt uses the scanner 11 or 21 ofthe POS apparatus 10 or 20 to read the barcode of the electronic receiptID when settling a commodity transaction. Then, electronic dataindicating the details of the commodity transaction are sent to theelectronic receipt server 80 along with the electronic receipt ID. As aresult, an electronic receipt file 810 in which the electronic receiptID and the electronic receipt are stored is stored in the electronicreceipt region W5 of the electronic receipt server 80.

The customer 4 viewing the screen G1 selects the ‘view’ button B2 toview the electronic receipt stored in the electronic receipt server 80.The customer 4 selects the ‘end’ button B3 to end the view of theelectronic receipt.

The processor 401 waits for the selection of the ‘view’ button B2 or the‘end’ button B3 displayed on the screen G1 (Act 76 and Act 77). If theselection of the ‘view’ button B2 is received (Act 76: Yes), theprocessor 401 displays an ID selection screen on the touch panel 404(Act 78).

FIG. 27 illustrates an example of a screen G2 displayed on the touchpanel 404 in Act 78. As shown in FIG. 27, a ‘user’ button B4 and a‘terminal’ button B5 are displayed on the screen G2.

To search an electronic receipt by an electronic receipt ID, thecustomer 4 selects the ‘user’ button B4. To search an electronic receiptby a terminal ID, the customer 4 selects the ‘terminal’ button B5.

The processor 401 waits for the selection of the ‘user’ button B4 or the‘terminal’ button B5 displayed on the screen G2 (Act79 and Act 80). Ifthe selection of the ‘user’ button B4 is received (Act 79: Yes), theprocessor 401 sends a view request command containing the electronicreceipt ID to the electronic receipt server 80 (Act 81). If theselection of the ‘terminal’ button B5 is received (Act 80: Yes), theprocessor 401 sends a view request command containing the terminal ID tothe electronic receipt server 80 (Act 82). The view request commandwirelessly sent from the wireless unit 406 is received by the basestation and sequentially received by the electronic receipt server 80via the network 200.

As shown in FIG. 25, the processor 801 of the electronic receipt server80 waits to receive data (Act 101). If the data are received via thenetwork 200 (Act 101: Yes), the processor 801 determines whether or notthe received data are a view request command (Act 102). If it isdetermined that the received data are a view request command (Act 102:Yes), the processor 801 determines whether the ID contained in thecommand is an electronic receipt ID or a terminal ID (Act 103:identification module). An electronic receipt ID is different from aterminal ID in code system. The processor 801 determines whether the IDcontained in the command is an electronic receipt ID or a terminal IDaccording to the difference in code system. Further, not limited to thedetermination method based on a code system, the ID contained in thecommand may also be identified according to the number of specificdigits unique to the electronic receipt ID or the terminal ID.

If the ID contained in the view request command is an electronic receiptID (Act 103: Yes), the processor 801 searches the electronic receiptregion W5 for an electronic receipt file 810 containing the electronicreceipt ID. Then, the processor 801 reads simplified data including astore name, a transaction date and time, and a total amount from eachelectronic receipt file 810 to create a list of simplified data (Act104: creation module).

If the ID contained in the view request command is a terminal ID (Act103: No), the processor 801 detects, from the electronic receipt regionW5, an electronic receipt file 810 in which the terminal ID is stored.Moreover, the processor 801 reads simplified data including a storename, a transaction date and time and a total amount from each detectedelectronic receipt file 810 to create a list of simplified data (Act105: creation module). The processor 801 sends the simplified data listrepresenting the electronic receipt data found according to theelectronic receipt ID or the simplified data list representing theelectronic receipt data found according to the terminal ID to theportable information terminal 400 from which the view request commandhas been originally sent (Act 106: a third sending module).

The processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400 which hassent the view request command in Act 81 or Act 82 waits to receive thesimplified data list from the electronic receipt server 80 (Act 83). Ifthe processor 401 receives the simplified data list (Act 83: Yes), theprocessor 401 displays the simplified data list on the touch panel 404(Act 84), as shown in FIG. 24.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of a screen G3 displayed on the touchpanel 404 in Act 84. As shown in FIG. 19, a simplified data list L1, a‘select’ button B6, and a ‘return’ button B7 are displayed on the screenG3.

The content of the simplified data list L1 if the customer 4 selects the‘user’ button B4 displayed on the screen G2, is different from that ofthe simplified data list L1 if the customer 4 selects the ‘terminal’button B5 displayed on the screen G2. That is, the simplified data (thestore name, the transaction date and time, and the total amount) of theelectronic receipt file 810 containing the electronic receipt ID of thecustomer 4 are displayed in the simplified data list L1 if the customer4 selects the ‘user’ button B4.

The electronic receipt file 810 containing the electronic receipt ID ofthe customer 4 is generated according to a commodity transaction withthe customer 4. The commodity transaction may include not only acommodity transaction base on the self-registration through the portableinformation terminal 400, but also a commodity transaction based on a(direct) input to the POS apparatus 10 or 20. If the customer 4 uses aplurality of portable information terminals 400, the commoditytransaction includes a commodity transaction corresponding to eachportable information terminal 400. Thus, the simplified data of anelectronic receipt generated according to a commodity transaction withthe customer 4 is displayed in the simplified data list L1.

On the other hand, the simplified data (the store name, the transactiondate and time, and the total amount) of an electronic receipt file 810containing the terminal ID of the portable information terminal 400 aredisplayed in the simplified data list L1 if the customer 4 selects the‘terminal’ icon B5.

An electronic receipt file 810 containing the terminal ID of a portableinformation terminal 400 is generated according to a self-registrationthrough the portable information terminal 400 associated with theterminal ID. Thus, even for the same customer 4, the commoditytransaction according to the self-registration through another portableinformation terminal 400 having different terminal ID is not searched,because the terminal ID is different. Thus, only the simplified data ofan electronic receipt generated according to a commodity transactionthrough the specific portable information terminal 400 is displayed inthe simplified data list L1.

The customer 4 viewing the simplified data list L1 selects (touches) acommodity transaction and selects the ‘select’ button B6, to downloadthe corresponding electronic receipt from the list. The customer 4selects the ‘return’ button B7 to end the display of the simplified datalist L1.

The processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400 displayingthe simplified data list L1 waits for the selection of the ‘select’button B6 (Act 85) or the ‘return’ button (Act 86). If the ‘select’button is selected (Act 85: Yes), the processor 401 sends a downloadrequest command requesting the electronic receipt corresponding to thesimplified data selected (touched) from the simplified data list L1, tothe electronic receipt server 80 (Act 87). The download request commandis received by the electronic receipt server 80 via the network 200.

The processor 801 of the electronic receipt server 80 which sends thesimplified data list waits to receive the download request command (Act107). If the download request command is received from the portableinformation terminal 400 (Act 107: Yes), the processor 801 reads theelectronic receipt requested from the electronic receipt file 810containing the selected simplified data. Then, the processor 801downloads the data of the electronic receipt in the portable informationterminal 400 from which the download request command has been originallysent (Act 108).

The processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400 which hassent the download request command waits to receive the download of theelectronic receipt (Act 88). If the electronic receipt is downloaded viathe wireless unit 406, then the processor 401 stores the electronicreceipt in the electronic receipt management region W2 of the auxiliarystorage device 403 (Act 89). Sequentially, the processor 401 waits forthe selection of the ‘select’ button B6 (Act 85) or the selection of the‘return’ button (Act 86).

If the ‘return’ icon B7 is selected (Act 86: Yes), the processor 401returns to carry out Act 75. That is, the processor 401 causes thescreen of the touch panel to return to the display screen G1 of theelectronic receipt ID. The processor 401 waits for the selection of the‘view’ button B2 (Act 76) or the ‘end’ button B3 (Act 77).

If the ‘end’ button B3 is selected (Act 77: Yes), the processor 401deletes the display screen G1 of the electronic receipt ID (Act 91).Then, the processor 401 ends the process carried out according to theelectronic receipt terminal program P2.

The data of the electronic receipt stored in the electronic receiptmanagement region W2 of the portable information terminal 400 aredisplayed on the touch panel 404 of the portable information terminal400. By selecting the ‘user’ button B4 on the screen G2, the customer 4can view the electronic receipt associated with the electronic receiptID, which is used by the customer 4 to log into the electronic receiptserver 80. Further, by selecting the ‘terminal’ button B5 on the screenG2, the customer 4 can view the electronic receipt associated with theterminal ID of the portable information terminal 400 used by thecustomer 4.

For example, it is assumed that a first portable information terminal400 a is used by the customer 4 for the self-registration during fivecommodity transactions and a second portable information terminal 400 bis used by the (same) customer 4 for the self-registration of anotherfive commodity transactions. Moreover, it is assumed that the customer 4receives an electronic receipt for each commodity transaction.

In this case, in either one of the portable information terminals 400 aor 400 b, by selecting the ‘user’ button B4 on the screen G2, asimplified data list L1 relating to electronic receipts for all tencommodity transactions is displayed on the touch panel 404 of theportable information terminal 400 a or 400 b.

On the other hand, if the ‘terminal’ button B5 is selected on the screenG2 displayed on the touch panel 404 of the portable information terminal400 a, a simplified data list L1 relating to electronic receipts for thefive commodity transactions for which self-registrations are carried outusing the portable information terminal 400 a is displayed on the touchpanel 404. Simplified data relating to electronic receipts for the otherfive commodity transactions for which self-registrations are carried outusing the portable information terminal 400 b are not included in thelist L1.

Contrarily, a simplified data list L1 relating to electronic receiptsfor the five commodity transactions for which self-registrations arecarried out using the portable information terminal 400 b is displayedon the touch panel 404 of the portable information terminal 400 b, ifthe ‘terminal’ button B5 is selected on the screen G2 displayed on thetouch panel 404 of the portable information terminal 400 b. Simplifieddata relating to electronic receipts for the other five commoditytransactions for which self-registrations are carried out using theportable information terminal 400 a are not included in the list L1.

Thus, a retrieval using the ‘terminal’ button B5 is effective if thecustomer 4 knows the commodity transaction carried out through theportable information terminal 400. A retrieval using the ‘user’ buttonB4 is effective if the commodity transaction is not through theself-registration, or if the customer 4 does not know the commoditytransactions carried out through the portable information terminal 400.

Fifth Embodiment

Next, a fifth embodiment is described below with reference to FIG.29-FIG. 30. Here, elements shown in FIG. 29-FIG. 30 that correspond tothose described in the above embodiments are depicted with samereference signs and therefore may not be described in detail. Thepresent embodiment corresponds to the second embodiment, and theterminal ID is used for the self-registration, similarly to the fourthembodiment.

FIG. 29 schematically illustrates a data structure of a commoditytransaction file 510-2 stored in the transaction file region W4 of thesupport server 50 according to the fifth embodiment. The commoditytransaction file 510-2 according to the fifth embodiment is differentfrom the commodity transaction file 510 according to the fourthembodiment in the number of the stored IDs. A self-registration ID and aterminal ID are stored in the commodity transaction file 510 of thefourth embodiment. In addition to a self-registration ID and a terminalID, an electronic receipt ID is also stored in the commodity transactionfile 510-2 of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating a part of a process carried out bythe processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400-2 accordingto the self-registration terminal program P1 in the fifth embodiment. Asshown in FIG. 30, in the fifth embodiment, Acts 111 and 112 are carriedout between the detection process of a self-registration ID, a terminalID, and an association flag F in Act 5 and the sending process of theregistration start command in Act 6.

That is, the processor 401 carries out Act 111 after completing Act 5.In Act 111, the processor 401 determines whether or not an associationflag F is detected in the self-registration management region W1. Noassociation flag F can be detected if the association of theself-registration system with the electronic receipt system is not setby the portable information terminal 400-2. In this case, the processor401 carries out Act 6, determining that the result of Act 111 is ‘No’.That is, the processor 401 wirelessly sends the registration startcommand containing the self-registration ID, the terminal ID, and theassociation flag F acquired from the self-registration management regionW1.

On the other hand, the association flag F is detected if the associationof the self-registration system with the electronic receipt system isset by the portable information terminal 400-2. In this case, theprocessor 401 carries out Act 112, determining that the result of Act111 is ‘Yes’.

In Act 112, the processor 401 detects an electronic receipt ID from theself-registration management region W1. After detecting an electronicreceipt ID, the processor 401 carries out Act 6. That is, the processor401 wirelessly sends the registration start command containing theself-registration ID, the terminal ID, and the electronic receipt ID andthe association flag F acquired from the self-registration managementregion W1. The process next to Act 6 of the fifth embodiment is the sameas that next to Act 6 of the first embodiment.

Then, similarly to the first embodiment, after the support server 50receives the registration start command, the support server 50 carriesout a process according to the procedure shown in FIG. 11. However, Act23 carried out in the fifth embodiment is partially different from Act23 carried out in the first embodiment. That is, in the firstembodiment, the processor 501 creates a commodity transaction file 510according to the store information acquired in Act 22, theself-registration ID, the terminal ID, and the information indicated bythe association flag F which are contained in the received start commandin Act 23. In the fifth embodiment, in Act 23, the processor 501 createsa commodity transaction file 510 according to the self-registration ID,the terminal ID, and the association flag F contained in theregistration start command.

However, in addition to the self-registration ID, the terminal ID, andthe association flag F, an electronic receipt ID may be also containedin the registration start command in some cases. In these cases, theprocessor 501 creates a commodity transaction file 510-2 in Act 23. Thatis, the processor 501 creates a commodity transaction file 510-2(storage module) according to the self-registration ID, the terminal ID,the electronic receipt ID and the association flag F that are containedin the received registration start command, and the store informationacquired in Act 22.

Further, like in the first embodiment, the processor 101 of the POSapparatus 10 or 20 receiving the request command carries out a processaccording to the procedure shown in FIG. 12. During the process, theprocessor 101 adds the electronic receipt ID contained in the commoditytransaction file 510-2, together with the terminal ID, in the data ofthe electronic receipt in Act 50. The self-registration ID is notattached to the electronic receipt. The processor 101 sends theelectronic receipt associated with the electronic receipt ID and theterminal ID to the electronic receipt server 80.

Like in the first embodiment, the processor 801 of the electronicreceipt server 80 that receives the electronic receipt carries out theprocess according to the procedure shown in FIG. 13. During thisprocess, as the ID associated with the electronic receipt is anelectronic receipt ID, the result of Act 63 should be ‘NO.’ Thus, Act 64is not executed. That is, in the fifth embodiment, the linkage table 820set in the electronic receipt server 80 is not needed.

Like in the first embodiment, in the fifth embodiment, theself-registration system can be associated with the electronic receiptsystem without increasing the workload of the customer 4 and cashier 3.Moreover, an electronic receipt corresponding to a commodity transactionconducted through the association of the self-registration system withthe electronic receipt system can be retrieved from the electronicreceipt server 80 by using the terminal ID of the portable informationterminal 400-2 used in the self-registration as a search key.

Sixth Embodiment

Next, a sixth embodiment is described. The present embodimentcorresponds to the third embodiment, and the terminal ID is used for theself-registration, similarly to the fourth embodiment.

According to the sixth embodiment, the self-registration system can beassociated with the electronic receipt system without increasing theworkload of the customer 4 and cashier 3. An electronic receipt for acommodity transaction conducted through the association of theself-registration system with the electronic receipt system can beretrieved from the electronic receipt server 80 using the terminal ID ofthe portable information terminal 400 used for the self-registration asa search key. Moreover, as an electronic receipt associated with anelectronic receipt ID is sent to the electronic receipt server 80, aconventional electronic receipt can be used for the electronic receiptserver 80.Although several embodiments are described, the presentinvention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments. For example, inthe foregoing embodiments, whether or not to associate theself-registration system with the electronic receipt system can be setby the customer 4. Alternatively, the association of theself-registration system with the electronic receipt system may befixed. In this case, the association flag F is not needed. Further, theprocessor 101 of the POS apparatus 10 or 20 does not need to carry outAct 47 shown in FIG. 12. Further, in the foregoing embodiments, thecustomer 4 can select a type of receipt to receive, i.e., a paperreceipt or an electronic receipt. Alternatively, the electronic receiptmay be always selected, and the paper receipt as an option. In thiscase, Acts 47, 49, and 51 shown in FIG. 12 may be omitted.

The second transmitting module can be any module that adds theself-registration ID to an electronic receipt and sends the processedelectronic receipt to the electronic receipt server 80 when aself-registration ID is associated with the commodity sales data(commodity data) of commodity transaction to be settled, that is, theinput of commodity data is through the self-registration operation withthe portable information terminal 400.

Further, in the foregoing embodiments, a customer 4 itself registerscommodity data using the portable information terminal 400, but theinput of commodity data is not limited to the self-registration. Forexample, a shop clerk may accompany the customer 4 and operate theportable information terminal 400 to input the data of a commoditypurchased by the customer 4.

Further, in the foregoing embodiments, in order to determine a POSapparatus 10 or 20 as a settlement object, the customer 4 photographsthe barcode of the POS apparatus 10 or 20 using the camera unit 405. Ifthe portable information terminal 400 is provided with a NFC (Near FieldCommunication) reader, a NFC tag instead of a barcode 7 may be attachedto the POS apparatus 10 or 20, so that the NFC reader can read a POS IDfrom the NFC tag.

Further, in the first embodiment, in Act 64 the processor 801 of theelectronic receipt server 80 converts the self-registration ID to theelectronic receipt ID with reference to the linkage table 820. However,the conversion process may not be carried out. The processor 801 mayonly extract the electronic receipt ID which is set in the linkage table820 in association with the self-registration ID. That is, the processor801 may generate an electronic receipt file 810 containing the extractedelectronic receipt ID and the electronic receipt, and stores thegenerated electronic receipt file 810 in the electronic receipt regionW5 in Act 65.

Similarly, in Act 81 of the third embodiment, the processor 101 of thePOS apparatus 10-3 or 20-3 converts the self-registration ID to anelectronic receipt ID with reference to the linkage table 820.Alternatively, the processor 101 may extracts the electronic receipt IDset in the linkage table 820 in association with the self-registrationID. Then, the processor 101 may add the extracted electronic receipt IDto the electronic receipt and sends the processed electronic receipt tothe electronic receipt server 80 in Act 50.

For example, in the foregoing embodiments, in Act 11 shown in FIG. 19,the processor 401 of the portable information terminal 400 embeds theself-registration ID in the barcode and wirelessly sends the barcodedata containing the self-registration ID. Alternatively, in Act 11, theprocessor 401 may embeds the self-registration ID and the terminal ID inthe barcode and wirelessly sends the barcode data.

Further, in the foregoing embodiments, in Act 78 shown in FIG. 23, theprocessor 401 of the portable information terminal 400 displays an IDselection screen on the touch panel 404. That is, in the foregoingembodiments, the keys for searching electronic receipts include anelectronic receipt ID and a terminal ID. Alternatively, only theterminal ID can be used as the key for searching the electronicreceipts. That is, the electronic receipt that can be searched by theportable information terminal 400 may also be limited to commoditytransactions registered through the self-registration by the portableinformation terminal 400. In this case, if the selection of the ‘view’button B2 is received in Act 76 (Act 76: Yes), the processor 401 sends aview request command containing the terminal ID to the electronicreceipt server 80 (Act 82).

Further, in the foregoing embodiments, the store server 40 and thesupport server 50 are located in the retail store 100. Alternatively,the functions of both the store server 40 and the support server 50 maybe integrated in one server. Further, the portable information terminal400 is not necessarily carried by a customer 4. For example, theportable information terminal 400 may be replaced by an informationterminal mounted on a shopping cart.

Further, in the foregoing embodiments, the electronic receipt server 80stores the electronic receipt in the electronic receipt file 810 inassociation with an electronic receipt ID and a terminal ID.Alternatively, the electronic receipt server 80 may store the electronicreceipt in the electronic receipt file 810 only in association with theterminal ID. That is, the electronic receipt may not be stored inassociation with an electronic receipt ID. In this case, the customer 4using the electronic receipt system extracts the electronic receiptusing the terminal ID of the portable information terminal 400. That is,the processor 501 may send the commodity data stored in the commoditytransaction file 510, together with the terminal ID, to the POSapparatus 10 or 20 designated by the data input from the portableinformation terminal 400. When the terminal ID is associated withcommodity data, the processor 101 associates the terminal ID with anelectronic receipt and then sends the electronic receipt associated withthe terminal ID to the electronic receipt server 80. When the terminalID is associated with an electronic receipt received from the POSapparatus 10 or 20, the storage module stores the electronic receiptassociated with the terminal ID.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the invention. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended tocover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A commodity sales processing system comprising: aself-registration support server comprising: a communication interfaceconfigured to receive: a first member ID of a customer for self-servicecommodity registration along with a linkage flag indicating whether ornot self-registration service is linked to electronic receipt service,from a mobile terminal that performs the self-service commodityregistration; and the first member ID of the customer along withcommodity code data of one or more commodities to be purchased by thecustomer, from the mobile terminal; and a storage device configured tostore transaction data including commodity registration data generatedbased on the received commodity code data, in association with the firstmember ID and the linkage flag; and a point-of-sales (POS) terminalcomprising: a POS communication interface configured to receive thetransaction data from the self-registration support server; auser-operable payment interface configured to receive cash payment orpayment information for a transaction; an operation panel configured toreceive a user selection of an electronic or a paper form for a receipt;and a POS processor configured to: perform a settlement operation of thetransaction using the transaction data received by the POS communicationinterface and the cash payment or payment information received by theuser-operable payment interface; cause a paper receipt to be printed,when the linkage flag in the received transaction data indicates linkageof the self-registration service with the electronic receipt service andthe user selection indicates the paper form; and generate electronicreceipt data of the transaction and control the POS communicationinterface to transmit the generated electronic receipt data along withthe first member ID to an electronic receipt server, when the linkageflag in the received transaction data indicates linkage of theself-registration service with the electronic receipt service and theuser selection indicates the electronic form.
 2. The commodity salesprocessing system according to claim 1, wherein the POS processor isconfigured to cause a paper receipt to be printed, when the linkage flagin the received transaction data indicates non-linkage of theself-registration service with the electronic receipt service.
 3. Thecommodity sales processing system according to claim 1, wherein the POSprocessor is configured to cause a screen for the user selection to bedisplayed on a display device when the linkage flag in the receivedtransaction data indicates linkage of the self-registration service withthe electronic receipt service, and the screen is not displayed when thelinkage flag in the received transaction data indicates non-linkage ofthe self-registration service with the electronic receipt service. 4.The commodity sales processing system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: an electronic receipt server comprising: a secondcommunication interface configured to receive the electronic receiptdata and the first member ID from the POS terminal; a second storagedevice configured to store a linkage table in which the first member IDis storable in association with a second member ID of the customer forelectronic receipt service; and a processor configured to: upon thefirst member ID being received by the communication interface, obtainthe second member ID associated with the first member ID from the linagetable in the second storage device; and store the electronic receiptdata received by the second communication interface in association withthe second member ID in the second storage device.
 5. The commoditysales processing system according to claim 1, wherein the user-operablepayment interface includes a cash receiving port configured to receivecash.
 6. The commodity sales processing system according to claim 1,wherein the user-operable payment interface includes a card readerconfigured to read the payment information from a card.
 7. The commoditysales processing system according to claim 1, wherein the POS terminalfurther includes a commodity code scanner on a first side of the POSterminal and a display on a second side of the POS terminal opposite tothe first side.
 8. The commodity sales processing system according toclaim 7, wherein the POS terminal further includes a code symbolrepresenting an ID of the POS terminal on the second side.
 9. Thecommodity sales processing system according to claim 1, wherein theuser-operable payment interface is provided on a first side of the POSterminal, and the POS terminal further includes a code symbolrepresenting an ID of the POS terminal on the first side.
 10. Thecommodity sales processing system according to claim 1, wherein thecommunication interface is configured to receive, from the mobileterminal, a POS ID along with the first member ID, and the processor isconfigured to determine the received POS ID is an ID of the POS terminaland then control the communication interface to transmit the generatedtransaction data to the POS terminal.
 11. A commodity sales processingsystem comprising: a self-registration support server comprising: acommunication interface configured to receive: a first member ID of acustomer for self-service commodity registration along with a linkageflag indicating whether or not self-registration service is linked toelectronic receipt service, from a mobile terminal that performs theself-service commodity registration; and the first member ID of thecustomer along with commodity code data of one or more commodities to bepurchased by the customer, from the mobile terminal; and a storagedevice configured to store transaction data including commodityregistration data generated based on the received commodity code data,in association with the first member ID and the linkage flag; and apoint-of-sales (POS) terminal comprising: a POS communication interfaceconfigured to receive the transaction data from the self-registrationsupport server; a user-operable payment interface configured to receivecash payment or payment information for the transaction; an operationpanel configured to receive a user selection of an electronic or a paperform for a receipt; a storage device configured to store a linkage tablein which the first member ID is storable in association with a secondmember ID of the customer for electronic receipt service; and a POSprocessor configured to: perform a settlement operation of thetransaction using the transaction data received by the POS communicationinterface and the cash payment or payment information received by theuser-operable payment interface; cause a paper receipt to be printed,when the linkage flag in the received transaction data indicates linkageof the self-registration service with the electronic receipt service andthe user selection indicates the paper form; and obtain the secondmember ID associated with the first member ID from the linage table inthe storage device, generate electronic receipt data of the transaction,and control the POS communication interface to transmit the generatedelectronic receipt data along with the second member ID to an electronicreceipt server, when the linkage flag in the received transaction dataindicates linkage of the self-registration service with the electronicreceipt service and the user selection indicates the electronic form.12. The commodity sales processing system according to claim 11, whereinthe POS processor is configured to cause a paper receipt to be printed,when the linkage flag in the received transaction data indicatesnon-linkage of the self-registration service with the electronic receiptservice.
 13. The commodity sales processing system according to claim11, wherein the POS processor is configured to cause a screen for theuser selection to be displayed on a display device when the linkage flagin the received transaction data indicates linkage of theself-registration service with the electronic receipt service, and thescreen is not displayed when the linkage flag in the receivedtransaction data indicates non-linkage of the self-registration servicewith the electronic receipt service.
 14. The commodity sales processingsystem according to claim 11, further comprising: an electronic receiptserver comprising: a second communication interface configured toreceive the electronic receipt data and the second member ID from thePOS terminal; a second storage device; and a processor configured tostore the electronic receipt data received by the second communicationinterface in association with the second member ID in the second storagedevice.
 15. The commodity sales processing system according to claim 11,wherein the user-operable payment interface includes a cash receivingport configured to receive cash.
 16. The commodity sales processingsystem according to claim 11, wherein the user-operable paymentinterface includes a card reader configured to read the paymentinformation from a card.
 17. The commodity sales processing systemaccording to claim 11, wherein the POS terminal further includes acommodity code scanner on a first side of the POS terminal and a displayon a second side of the POS terminal opposite to the first side.
 18. Thecommodity sales processing system according to claim 17, wherein the POSterminal further includes a code symbol representing an ID of the POSterminal on the second side.
 19. The commodity sales processing systemaccording to claim 11, wherein the user-operable payment interface isprovided on a first side of the POS terminal, and the POS terminalfurther includes a code symbol representing an ID of the POS terminal onthe first side.
 20. The commodity sales processing system according toclaim 11, wherein the communication interface is configured to receive,from the mobile terminal, a POS ID along with the first member ID, andthe processor is configured to determine the received POS ID is an ID ofthe POS terminal and then control the communication interface totransmit the generated transaction data to the POS terminal.